Manga Tour Day 1: Arrive in Tokyo, Head to Convenience Mart

After 13 hours on two planes, an hour long bus ride and lots of waiting in between, I'm in Tokyo with the rest of the Pop Japan Travel "Mind Over Manga" tour of Japan. Lost a full day to the travel, but technically, lost two days, since crossing the International Date Line means I left Oakland on Thursday morning and arrived in Tokyo on Friday night.

There's 13 of us all together, and it's a mixed group. A family group, a mother-daughter team, a few aspiring manga artists and a lot of anime fans. For almost everyone, this is their first trip to Japan. For me, it's my fourth visit -- but it's been over 12 years since I last stepped on Japanese soil (or concrete, as the case may be), so there's sure to be lots to discover.

Right off the top, I noticed that EVERYONE here, young and old alike are addicted to their cell phones. As soon as they got off the plane, >flick!< >flick!< >flick!< - the sound of several cell phones being flipped open all at once. And what cell phones they are -- slim and sleek, although their lightness is instantly counteracted by the numerous charms dangling from each one. So of course I had to get one -- or at least rent one to try it out.

The cool thing about traveling internationally is how almost every detail becomes fascinating. Convenience stores, truck stops, street signs, billboards and buildings are suddenly strange and new.

Fortunately, I can read and speak some Japanese, so it's not so overwhelming, but I do wish I was more fluent to really take it all in.

Our hotel is just a block away from the Shinagawa train station, which is great, because we're close to a lot of restaurants, pubs, convenience stores and pachinko parlors that are open even after we check in at 9 pm.

I convince our guide Ben and two other tour members to join me on a quest to find yakitori and beer, and we end up at a low-key (but nice) izakaya (or kind of like a restaurant / pub) next to the station. While many signs in Japan are in English, many menus are not, and while I'm able to read rudimentary Japanese, the menu at the izakaya leaves me completely befuddled.

Thankfully, Ben can read and speak fluently, so we manage to order the mentaiko (spicy cod roe) potato casserole and a plate of mixed yakitori skewers The mentaiko casserole had a light cream sauce with spicy cod roe and melted cheese over sliced potatoes. The roe popped in my mouth with a subtle crunch and gives the potatoes just enough saltiness to make it yummy. The yakitori platter was also full of yum - chicken breast with a dab of wasabi, grilled shishito peppers, quail eggs, ginko nuts, teriyaki chicken liver, chicken meatballs and more. Even with four of us, we couldn't finish it all. Our damage, with a huge bottle of sake and a beer? About $25 each. Deal!

Then went nuts in the nearby New Days mart. Convenience stores are one of my favorite things about Japan -- the endless variety of snack foods, drinks and miscellaneous goodies make them impulse shopping central. Found some panda-shaped cookies, a mysterious choco-bun, Doraemon manju and something that has something to do with iconic manga business exec, Kosaku Shima. Engrish is still in full effect, as I find I pack of dried cuttlefish featuring a super cute squid "Ika-kun" character who encourages consumers to eat what Ben called "the dismembered bits of their compatriots" with this call to action: "Enjoy the natural taste with a tender smell of the sea."

There are lots of American chain restaurants near our hotel, like an Outback Steakhouse and a TGIFridays, but I'm determined to eat 100% Japanese food while I'm here (or at least very weird Japanified western food like corn on pizza, for example.)

Next on the itinerary: Asakusa, Akihabara and a fireworks show!

Image credit: © Deb Aoki